CHENNAI: Hours after 23 more fishermen were detained by the Sri Lankan Navy, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa wrote a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking him to intervene and secure their release. In the letter, Jayalalithaa dwelt upon the ‘vexatious’ and ‘worrisome’ nature of the problem, saying it was leading to tension in the southern districts of the State.Jayalalithaa recalled the Prime Minister’s intervention and the subsequent release of four fishermen from a Sri Lankan prison soon after she took over as Chief Minister. Thanking him for that, she said similar intervention was necessary to ensure the release of the fishermen this time as well.Jayalalithaa acknowledged that the fishermen had crossed the international border, but had only done so unknowingly. She used this to highlight the problems surrounding the boundary between India and Sri Lanka.“I wish to reiterate that the frequent incidents of arrest and detention of Tamil Nadu fishermen crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line, which is very close to the shore off Rameswaram in the Palk Bay area, is worrisome. This also creates a lot of tension and unrest among the fishermen in Tamil Nadu. I had discussed this vexatious issue when I called on you at New Delhi,” she said.Jayalalithaa also noted that she had discussed the issue with National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon on two occasions after she took charge as the Chief Minister.
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